


Imagine In Another Life

by katawa_shoujos_bitch



Category: A Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Genre: Dumbasses, Fix-It, Fluff, Jasmine is the only valid person, M/M, i hate my life, no one else wrote for this story so i guess i have to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23193475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katawa_shoujos_bitch/pseuds/katawa_shoujos_bitch
Summary: Percy runs away with them.Chaos and tension and several gay panics ensue.
Relationships: John Unger/Percy Washington
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	Imagine In Another Life

**Author's Note:**

> no one else wrote this so i had to   
> god i have to do everything myself

“Doesn’t it seem as though some force is keeping us apart?”

Percy looked to the ground. It wasn’t _un_ true. Ever since that second morning, they’d barely had a moment to speak together. He nodded slowly. “Do you like it here?” 

John nodded as well. “I do. It’s very nice.” 

“Isn’t it?” 

They were in the expansive garden, the beauty of it so lavish it was nearly nauseating. Nearly--it just barely managed to skirt the line, and instead was so lush with color that John couldn’t look away--he’d been there over a month, seen it every single day of that month, and yet it still entranced him every single time. There was also the small deal of the unknown awkwardness between himself and Percy. He couldn’t place it. There had always been a small bit of tension between them, ever since they’d met, but that was a natural occurrence of any two people at St. Midas. It was a place built of tension. 

This was different. There was no need for it here, in Percy’s home. But Percy kept staring at the ground, and the stretches of silence between them kept getting longer, and John was getting frustrated in every conceivable way. 

John would have to be the one to try to make conversation. He settled on asking about his home life--it was what he knew the least about, after all. Back at school, alone in the night, they’d discussed everything under the sun. The night erased the tension inherent in such a prestigious place, and opened the gates to real friendships. But even then, Percy had never allowed the subject of his family to be breached. Now John knew, he knew all _too_ much, really, but he didn’t know the true details of Percy’s life. For some reason, he itched to know.

“Are there, ah… downsides to all this?” John gestured to the expanse of clear displays of wealth in front of them.

That made Percy pause, turn, give him a confused look. “Why do you think there’d be downsides? Look how lovely it is.” 

John thought about that. He couldn’t help but agree. “True. I was just curious, that’s all.” 

A moment of silence. It stretched long enough John feared they were back to the awkward silence of before. Then Percy took a hesitant breath and spoke. “Alone.”

“Huh?” 

“It’s lonely, sometimes.” He avoided John’s gaze. “As you gathered, I’m of course not permitted to discuss my family with outsiders. I’m not permitted to bring anyone here unless they will never leave. I was unable to mention you to my family at any point until this summer--they wouldn’t allow our friendship.”

“They wouldn’t allow you to have friends?” 

Percy shook his head. “For fear of anyone catching onto the situation, myself and my sisters are generally not permitted to have friends. Certainly no romances--Kismine tried, once. That man was dead before dawn.” He frowned. “I supposed if I brought you here--with the idea that you’d stay for, um, forever--it’d be alright.” 

“Was it?” 

“It was _great._ ” He laughed, and it was bordering on the edge of hysteria. “That’s why I haven’t spoken more than a word to you in weeks. I wanted to see you. That’s why I brought you here. I wouldn’t have--I’m not that cruel. I wouldn’t bring you here and then ignore you, I--no, it wasn’t alright.”

John didn’t say anything. He didn’t expect Percy to continue, but miraculously, he did. 

“They were upset about something else. I wasn’t anticipating it. That’s why everything was okay for two days. They pulled me aside, then, said they’d seen… _something_ in your eyes. Said you weren’t good for me. Said you were dangerous.”

“I’m… dangerous?” The words didn’t sound right, nor did they feel right in John’s mouth. He was far from a threat--his family, compared to _this,_ was pathetic. Practically impoverished, by these standards. John himself was thin and didn’t reach six feet in height and certainly had no visible strength. He did well in school, and had no hobbies or extracurriculars beyond perhaps reading and, well, speaking with Percy into the late night. He always considered himself to be far from threatening. 

But Percy just nodded. “‘Lifestyle’. They kept saying ‘lifestyle’. I didn’t understand. I still don’t understand. They said you’d pull me into your ‘lifestyle’.”

Lifestyle.

He’d heard that before. He’d heard it from his parents, warning him against the places he liked to go with friends in the city. Warnings he’d always ignored. 

He could even remember, once or twice, it being whispered on the street as his friends passed. Don’t look now, but there’s… 

John hadn’t heard it since he’d been at St. Midas. 

It had been that they went out and danced. That they didn’t return home until late, they danced with the women who society deemed unacceptable. 

John wasn’t a radical. Not even close. He was never aiming to break the social code, just to have a good time. All that ended when he left home, of course, but--he didn’t mind too much. 

But here it was again. 

If not the activity, the location, the people surrounding him, what was it about him that bothered Percy’s parents in such an incredibly specific way?

_The look in his eyes._

“They’re busy today,” Percy said, “so I wanted to have the chance to speak with you. We may not have much longer, however. I wished to warn you. You may not be safe here.”

“Not… safe?” They’d killed Kismine’s friends. They’d _killed_ them. He-- “They’re going to--?” 

“I’m sorry. I… believe you should run.” 

It was now John’s turn to stare at the ground. “...Run.” He thought. “What about you?”

“I’ll stay here.” He muttered under his breath, “Obviously.” 

“Why not? Have you ever even considered the possibility of leaving?” 

“No,” Percy responded immediately, “why would I? This is a life of luxury and wealth.”

“Surely something here belongs to you. Take what you can, sell it to have enough of a living. Live free of the threats that hang over this place… take your sisters, the three of you can have the chance to make friends.”

“Make friends? I can’t imagine it.” 

“Imagine it.” 

For a moment, Percy seemed to try to imagine it. Then he finally turned to John with uncharacteristic irritation in his eyes. “I _can’t_ imagine it. I don’t _want_ to imagine it. That’s not my life. This is--” He flung an arm out at the scenery surrounding them. “ _Look_ at this! Why would I want to leave this?”

“You wouldn’t. I wouldn’t,” John said, sighing a little. “It’s a beautiful life.” 

“ _Thank_ you.” 

“What if--What if _I_ want you to go?” 

“Excuse me?” 

John struggled for the words, not even entirely sure what in the world he was doing. What was he saying? _What_ was he saying? “I don’t… I don’t want to leave without you.” Unsure, he added, “You’re my friend, you know?”

“You want me to run away with you?”

“Well, it sounds so melodramatic when you put it like that.”

“It’s because--it _is_ dramatic! This is my life, John!” 

John frowned, unsure of the exact source of his persistence. He should just let it go. He’d let it go. “I know. I’m--I wanted you to come with me. I’m sorry.” 

“...You still have to. Run, I mean. You still have to run.” Percy turned away again, staring pointedly forward.

“I know.”

~~~

It would be the three of them. John, Kismine, Jasmine. That hadn’t entirely been expected--of course, he’d extended the invitation to the two sisters (they deserved the opportunity, at the very least), but he hadn’t especially expected _both_ of them to agree to the prospect of running away, leaving their lives behind. 

But Kismine had begun waxing poetry about living the poor life, starting over, finding true love. John had wondered if such a life would seem attractive to him if he’d grown up in a lavish life quite this… stifling. Regardless, her pontifications entranced Jasmine, and before John knew it, the plan was for the three of them to run off together. 

He’d taken note of Percy’s expression. Though… It wasn’t one he knew how to describe. 

Still. He was incredibly surprised when, as he was sneaking through one of the many lounge rooms to meet the sisters in the back dining room (they claimed they knew a secret way out), he saw Percy, waiting for him. 

“Oh, Percy.” John tilted backwards on his heels, catching himself just before losing his balance, narrowly avoiding a humiliating stumble. “What brings you down here at this hour? Here to send me off?” He flashed a slight smile. 

Percy averted his eyes just off to the side. 

And he _did_ look especially beautiful in that moment. His hair slightly astray, not quite disheveled, but well on its way. He wasn’t dressed as though he should be sleeping--just as though the day had drawn to a close and he was resting, calmly reading a book like he was--his usual formal jacket draped over the side of the couch and his collar unbuttoned. His eyes slightly off to the right, hidden by lashes. The slightest blush just barely dusting his cheeks. 

John was only holding one _very_ small, _very_ light bag. It slipped out of his hand and onto the floor with a light _bonk._ Percy’s eyes flicked over to it. John tried not to swear under his breath.

Mercifully, Percy did not comment. 

Instead, he said, “...No. I… ah… changed my mind. I’d like to come with you three.” 

John resisted the urge to step back in surprise. “You’d… um, why? You were so against the idea--did something happen?”

“It sounds foolish.” Percy shook his head. “It _is_ foolish. I’m not sure I can even explain it.” 

“Can you try?”

“I… ah. It doesn’t make much sense.” He sighed. “It was at dinner. You were speaking with Kismine, and she said something I couldn’t quite hear, and you both laughed. You covered your mouth with your hand. It was right then--at that moment. I thought, ‘I have to go with them’. I don’t know… why.”

John smiled--it was involuntary. “Alright, then. We should go.” He walked over and extended a hand to Percy, who took it without hesitation and raised to his feet. 

“Here, I--have this.” Percy lifted his other hand--John hadn’t even noticed it curled into a fist. He unfurled it, and the ring inside was adorned with a single gem; a diamond, one with a width almost certainly larger than that of any finger it could decorate. _Priceless._

“Uh.” 

“To sell.”

“Oh. Right.” 

They made their way down to the back dining room, where Kismine and Jasmine already sat next to each other, leaning against the wall side-by-side in casual dress--Kismine in a seasonable but comfortable light sundress that flowed down her arms and legs elegantly, Jasmine quite defiantly in a t-shirt. How she even had access to such clothes, John couldn’t fathom.

Jasmine lifted a finger to her lips when they approached, indicating to _be quiet._

All three of them obeyed, and Jasmine led them (with Kismine close behind her) through a winding hallway that seemed almost secret. 

They walked through for what felt like an eternity, and Percy’s fingers stayed interlaced with John’s--truly, should he have pulled away? Certainly. Did he? Certainly not. Not with the narrow hallway pushing their shoulders together--even as Jasmine pushed open an almost comically small door and they entered the open air. 

Warm summer night air. Kismine jumped into the air, leaping towards the empty expanse of land ahead of them. The remaining three followed with just light laughter and newfound excitement for life--or so John assumed. 

~~~

Perhaps an hour or two later, they’d managed to walk the quite frankly obnoxious distance to the nearest town. The town was small, so small John was hesitant to call it _‘a town’_ , but he hadn’t a better word. 

Kismine had been the only one of them with the good sense to snatch some money that could be used directly--not gemstones that had to be bartered and sold first--so she was the one who paid for their first night’s home. A rundown little motel that, again, John was hesitant to grace with the name.

The sisters were visibly agitated by the stark drop in living quality, though Jasmine was better at hiding it. Kismine was well intentioned--John had heard her mutter ‘it’s okay, I’ll adjust’ under her breath more times than he could count, and sincerely hoped she would, in fact, adjust. 

Two rooms seemed reasonable. Kismine and Jasmine in one, John and Percy in the other. The girls yawned a goodnight and retreated, and John and Percy were once again left alone. 

In their motel room. Meant to go to sleep.

John froze in the doorway, for some reason just now struck by the situation. 

Percy said nothing, didn’t even seem to notice him, but walked into the room with gliding steps and sat down on the bed, staring, once again, at the floor. Dejected. His eyes looked almost hollow. John swallowed. 

“Sorry about this, I didn’t know. Only Kismine talked to the man at the front desk, so--I can sleep on the floor.” 

Percy shook his head. “No. Not that. It’s… I can never go back.” 

“Oh.”

“I chose this impulsively. I didn’t truly… I didn’t even really have a reason. Now I’m here, and I can never go back to my life. My _perfect_ life.”

“Was it perfect?” John sat beside him. 

Percy paused a moment too long. “...No. But…” He took a breath. “It certainly felt that way.”

“Why… _did_ you decide to come? I still don’t understand.” 

“For the same reason I invited you over for the summer despite knowing the danger--knowing you couldn’t leave. I needed--I wanted--” He paused, ran a hand through his hair, irritated. “I felt like--I needed to be with you. That’s not--agh.” He shook his head again. 

John paused, not responding for a long moment. “I felt--feel--the same way--I believe. It’s--you’re the closest friend I’ve ever had. I’ve never--” 

“John?” 

“Hm?” 

“Please stop talking.”

“Is something wrong?” 

“I suddenly feel very--” A shaky breath. “ _unwell._ ” 

He leaned back, laying on his back with an arm covering his eyes. John turned to look at him. “You look red. Are you feverish?”

“Ma-Maybe?”

“Let me check. Here, move your arm.”

He moved his arm and let his eyes flutter open, looking up at John.

John pressed the back of his hand to Percy’s forehead. Warm, but not unnaturally so. It didn’t feel like fever. He slid his hand down to his reddened cheek--much warmer. “Hm… I don’t believe you’re… ill.”

“Mm.” Percy’s eyes stayed wide, staring up. John couldn’t place the emotion on his face. “John, would you--”

“Are you okay?” John burst out, cutting him off. “I have to--It’s my fault you’re here, so I--have to know, whether you’re--I care about you, so--are you alright? Please--let me know.”

“I care about you too. A lot. Maybe too much, but--you’re my only friend. I’m trying not to consider too much the consequences of coming here with you. But even so, I believe--I believe it was worth it. To be here with you.” John felt Percy’s hand rest upon his where it still lay on his cheek--lithe fingers wrapping around his. 

John inhaled as inconspicously as he could. “So, you’re… alright?”

A nod. “Yes. I believe so.” Another, shakier, breath. “Here. Lean down. Closer.” 

John complied, reluctantly (well. Maybe it wasn’t reluctant at all), leaning so he hovered just an inch or two above Percy. It was too close, he knew immediately--but it was too late to move back. 

Or maybe it was exactly close enough, because Percy didn’t seem irritated or significantly uncomfortable, but he _did_ lift his head just enough to press their foreheads together. 

_Is this okay?_

“Percy…?”

“Hm?” Pause. “...Is this not… sorry, I can--” 

In a moment of complete impulse, recklessness, _foolishness,_ John closed the small space between them, moving forward into a soft kiss, and--

_Ah--_

John pulled away in a panic, having to unlace his fingers from Percy’s, movements erratic and frantic and jerky. Percy didn’t move, just stayed laying on his back. His hand floated to his face, tracing his own lips in silent astonishment. John turned his back, not risking to look at him longer than a moment--his hair officially disheveled now, breathing heavier, eyes wide and--

**_\--What?!_ **

“I’m sorry. I don’t know--” 

“It’s fine. It’s, ah… why did you…?” 

“I don’t know--I _don’t_ know--Sorry. I must be tired. Let’s just go to sleep.” 

John turned around--finally--and saw Percy now sitting upright, thumb still on his lip. “No, no. It’s really--It’s alright. My--My--” Pause. His thumb fell away. “...How do… _you_ feel… what _is…_ ”

“No, what do _you_ f--” 

“That isn’t what I--What I meant was--” 

“I’m really sorry, I--” 

“Would you try it again?” 

“Huh?”


End file.
